Yet another random and common blog…

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On the eve of the 2011 Cricket World Cup final, here are some gems that Sachin Patil noted while watching the fascinating 175 scored by Virender Sehwag in the very first game of the world cup: India vs Bangladesh. These are all in Hindi (and that is precisely the point of this post!).

1. Sehwag was belligerent hitting the bowlers all over the ground (and outside of it),

Sehwag was just unstoppable! Bowlers were trying everything that they could. One bowler after getting punished severely decided to come around the wicket. He was marking his new run up when Sehwag muttered something. On that:

After the humiliating defeat of Indian cricket team by at South Africans at Nagpur, I liked this one by Mickey Arthur; specifically, the following two points, which precisely capture my (and I believe most of us feel the same) thoughts.

but if the Indian middle order represents the next generation then the current number one ranked team have problems for the future.

and then

Harbhajan, who has in my opinion been below his best for several years now, must be questioning his future. His bowling lacked the zip and sting that was so characteristic in the early years of his career. He must be honest with himself and the management and selectors must be honest too. There is no place for sentiment in Test cricket — reputation and history should count for very little when selecting your best XI

Although, I don’t think Bhajji man is questioning his future place in Indian cricket team – who else do we have? Hopefully, he has targets to improve his own self!

Rediff has this post celebrating Tendulkar’s 400th One day international. The post presents one of the interesting ways that people use when they try to show that someone excels in comparison to another.

Here is what it says (edited a bit…):

When he turns out against the Australians in the fifth ODI, Tendulkar will become only the second player after Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya to reach the landmark. …. Tendulkar is the most prolific one-day batsman in the history of the game with 15,563 runs in his 399 ODIs to date.

He has a world record of 41 centuries in the LOI format at an average of 44.21. He has been also useful with the ball, taking 152 wickets at an average of 44.

In comparison, Jayasuriya has 12,178 runs in 401 ODIs at an average of 32.73 with 25 hundreds.

The article never talks of Jayasuriya’s utility with the ball; the fact that he has taken 307 wickets at an average of 36.31. In comparison, Tendulkar has (as you might have read earlier) taken 152 wickets at an average of 44.

I do not want to say that one is better than the other; however, Tendulkar’s feats do not require one to belittle someone else (especially in such a partial manner!)

Peter Chingoka, chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, has been refused visa to enter the UK. It seems his ties with Robert Mugabe is one the reasons. However, he was given a visa last time. Here is what the article at cricinfo says:

In June, the British embassy in Harare recommended that Chingoka be refused a visa to attend the annual ICC get together in London as he was alleged to have close links with Robert Mugabe and the ruling Zanu-PF party. This block was endorsed by the FCO. However, Richard Caborn, at the time the sports minister, overruled the ban as he felt such a move might have jeopardised the appointment of ECB chief David Morgan as ICC president-elect.

Great! Now, visas are given so that the president of the cricket board can be elected. And, once he is elected …